Lent Devotions
Lent Week Two for catch up.
Lent Week Three – this week.

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Lent Day Twelve
New Covenant

Music and Worship
God Sent His son – Divine Hymns

Scripture

Luke 22:14-20 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
The First Lord’s Supper
14 When the hour came, He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him. 15 Then He said to them, “I have fervently desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” 17 Then He took a cup, and after giving thanks, He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. 18 For I tell you, from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”

19 And He took bread, gave thanks, broke it, gave it to them, and said, “This is My body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.”

20 In the same way He also took the cup after supper and said, “This cup is the new covenant established by My blood; it is shed for you.

Matthew 26:26-30 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
The First Lord’s Supper
26 As they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take and eat it; this is My body.” 27 Then He took a cup, and after giving thanks, He gave it to them and said, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is My blood that establishes the covenant; it is shed for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 But I tell you, from this moment I will not drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it in a new way in My Father’s kingdom with you.” 30 After singing psalms, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Mark 14:22-26 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

What is the New Covenant?

We were studying in Romans 2 & 3 and in one version it talks about “prior to the law there was no sin.” I was asked, how did Adam and Eve know of sin? or Abraham? etc.? I started by discussing the concept of Adam and Eve having innocence vs holiness. Did Adam and Eve know it was sin to eat from the Tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil? Yes! God said “don’t do this and if you do this you will die” (Genesis 2,3). They had given given a command and they were told the consequence and they made the choice.

Did Cain know it was wrong to kill his brother Abel? Well, God had been talking to him about anger(Genesis 4) and that because he was angry(maybe hiding), sin was sitting at his doorstep and was trying to cause him problems. Still, he killed his brother! Why? Jealousy! He did not say when God judged him that God had no right to judge him for what he did. He said that the Judgment was too grievous.

In both of these cases, something died. Adam and Eve sinned and an animal died on their behalf but they gave up their fellowship with God. Cain killed his brother. His brother’s blood wouldn’t be a sacrifice, but blood was shed becauise of sin! He was sent away and removed from fellowship from his family.

King David sinned and cried out for forgiveness and I’m sure gave plenty of sacrifices. His sin, followed by death of his son, caused him heartache. More than anything, King David’s cry was “cast me not away from your presence and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of thy salvation and uphold me with thy free spirit.” Psalm 51

Basically, we can go through any one who sinned and had to pay the price and suffer the consequence and realized that they wanted to get back what they lost. Sin brings death and division.

• The Adamic Covenant was the animal that was slain for Adam and Eve. They were kicked out of the Garden.
• The Noahic Covenant was the clean animals that were slain (all the people that had been sinning was the death penalty, and separation). ONLY NOAH was found righteous and his family were saved on his behalf.
• The Abrahamic Covenant was around the offering of Isaac and God giving a ram in his stead. Leave idolatry! even family. Go where you are sent!
• The Mosaic Covenant was the Ten Commandments and of course the sacrifices(Passover lamb) and such at The Exodus. This instituted Israel being separate and unique from the World.

These are all animals that were sacrificed to pay the price for man’s sin.
God does not desire the blood of bulls and goats but of a contrite heart.

Back to David’s psalm asking forgiveness:

Psalm 51:16-17 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
16 You do not want a sacrifice, or I would give it;
You are not pleased with a burnt offering.
17 The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit.
God, You will not despise a broken and humbled heart.

And Samuel explains the preference of God:

1 Sam 15:22 Holman Christian Standard Bible
Then Samuel said: Does the LORD take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the LORD? Look: to obey is better than sacrifice, to pay attention is better than the fat of rams.

It was not God’s original intention for anything to die.  His word in Genesis 2 was that when man sinned, death would enter the garden. I believe, though, that God, in His perfect wisdom, knew that this creation that He had created was going to turn on Him. Why? Because he had created the angels with perfect glorified bodies, that lived in his perfect presence and they fell and there is no sacrifice for them.

God knew that his creation had/has an enemy, because He gave His creation, including the angels, the right to say “no.” God knew that His enemy, man’s enemy, would attack man at his basic levels – lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of Life. (1 John 2:16  with Genesis 3). God also knew, that in the fullness of time, He would send His son Jesus, to be the final lamb, the perfect lamb, to be slain and make good the price of his Justice. The old Covenant was based on the blood of lambs, goats, Rams, Bulls, animals, Etc. The New Covenant is based on the blood of Jesus Christ, the perfect Lamb of God.

Jeremiah prophesied of another covenant!

Jeremiah 31:31-34 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
The New Covenant
31 “Look, the days are coming”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.
32 This one will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant they broke even though I had married them”—the Lord’s declaration.
33 “Instead, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days”—the Lord’s declaration. “I will put My teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people.
34 No longer will one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me, from the least to the greatest of them”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “For I will forgive their wrongdoing and never again remember their sin.”

The Writer of Hebrews explains the difference in the OLD and NEW Testaments in Hebrews 9:13 – 10:18

The short version:

Hebrews 9:13-15 King James Version (KJV)
13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:

14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

We are PARTICIPANTS in this NEW COVENANT! Just like those that had to purchase the sacrificial animal and slay it in the OLD covenant – we have a cost to count, and some dying to do.

An excerpt from 2018 Lent day Eleven is this:

So when we participate in communion, the Lord’s Supper, the Eucharist, what actually happens?

The definition that I started this with says the sharing of intimate emotional and spiritual things, For me, this really says what this is all about! As two or more gathered Jesus is in our midst. (Matthew 18:20)
When we gather together, we acknowledge that we are all part of the body of Christ and that is a sharing of sorts. (1 Corinthians 12)

In another way, when we participate in this celebration, we are saying that we are willing to take up our cross, to crucify our flesh physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually – whatever is needed to grow into the fullness of Christ. We are saying that we believe that the blood of Jesus Christ was perfect to cleanse us and we’re making sure that our accounts with God are kept short. In a way, we are choosing to participate in his suffering symbolically. There are many on this planet that don’t have the choice whether or not they suffer with Christ or participate in his sufferings because they are under horrendous persecution. They can have their heads cut off, they can be burned at the stake, they can have acid thrown on them, and/or they can be raped, pillaged, whatever without any protection.

In the United States of America, we are kind of handicapped in that we have a soft cushioned, velvet covered cross that’s only holding our arms up with suspenders that don’t really hurt. They’re a little uncomfortable, maybe. Our feet and hands? Well, actually, we can get down off our cross anytime we want to! Because we have to choose! We have a choice.

A very scary verse for me is “too much to whom much is given much will be required.” (Luke 12:48) Those who have nothing don’t have any difficulty giving up their nothing for Christ! Yes, they do have to make choices. I’m not belittling their choice, but if you have no food you don’t have to give up food for Christ because you don’t have to give up what you don’t have! If you have access to fast food restaurants everywhere and you have five or ten dollars in your pocket anytime and you can go and get whatever burger, fries and chocolate shake you want anytime, anywhere and God asks you to give that up, sometimes we take that personally! “You want my burger and fries God?”
And God says
“no, I want your heart.”

The New Covenant was paid for by the BLOOD of JESUS Christ…and His broken Body. HIS DEATH!!! our responsibility is gratitude. We choose to respond…
We can be like Judas
or we can choose to follow Jesus – in our offering to HIM in Thanks!
For other writings of mine on Choose and Choice, please go click in the word cloud to the right of this article!

Every year, I keep hearing that we should have Christmas everyday! “People should celebrate Christmas all year long!” Here’s my concern. While he had to be born fulfilling all of the prophecies, if he had not gone to the cross, none of the other would have mattered.

THEREFORE – Let’s celebrate Resurrection Day every day! Give thanks every day for what Christ did for us on Calvary!

Prayer and Worship

We Remember You – Maranatha Praise Band

He Paid a Debt – Church of Christ

This song was intrumental in my salvation walk – and I do not have the copyrighted youtube version, but, here’s this:

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

Copyrights and Legal-eze
There are many organizations that support children and families. Here are ones that we are blessed to be a part of. Please consider sponsoring a child – the life you change could be your own.

• Naomi’s Heart Ministries
• Obed’s House Ministries
• Project Based Missions, Global
• The son of a friend will be interning with CRU – previously known as Campus Crusades for Christ. If you’d like to support someone I can vouch for in this area, please consider going to Matthew Plant’s donation page.
• Compassion